Top 5 Liberating Video Game Heroes

Some video games have players aimlessly wandering around looking for quests, shooting anything that moves, or focusing on your own personal gain, but some put the people first, and throw you into the shoes of a revolution-sparking hero or heroine that’s sole goal is liberation. So here’s the top 5 characters that make these liberation adventures tick:

Rico Rodriguez (Just Cause series)

When it comes to liberating countries from tyrannical leaders, Rico Rodriguez is your man. Fighting out of the covert section of the CIA simply known as ‘The Agency’, Rodriguez is a master of many skills and has an endless amount of tricks up his sleeve. This skydiving and rappelling daredevil isn’t afraid of getting dirty, leaping off cliff-sides and blowing up a few things to rustle the features of the regime.

Alec Mason (Red Faction: Guerilla)

The Red Faction series has become known in the gaming world for providing inspiring tales of rising up against oppression, as well as helping push the boundaries in terms of destructible environments in games. Red Faction: Guerilla took the jump from an FPS to a third-person action-adventure game, and put players in the role of Alec Mason – a miner who who assists the Red Faction to overthrow the oppressive Earth Defense Force (EDF) on Mars. It doesn’t get much bigger than fighting for your life on a distant planet – but Mason had a serious grudge against the EDF for killing his brother, not to mention a hammer that could cause some serious damage.

Jason Brody (Far Cry 3)

There have been some silent yet enjoyable protagonists in the Far Cry series to date, but Far Cry 3‘s Jason Brody is an undoubted favourite. Brody is the ultimate fish-out-of-water after his tropical vacation is turned into a nightmare scenario, seeing his friends murdered and being forced to embrace a new savage and survivalist part of himself. Jason goes from shocked tourist to fearsome warrior throughout the course of the game, swearing vengeance on the admittedly awesome villain of Vaas and his pirate outlaws in order to save his (remaining) friends and help the natives take back the island.

Robert Jacobs (Homefront)

So Homefront wasn’t the great Call of Duty-killer that it was touted to be, but it was pretty intense, heart-wrenching tale, taking massive inspiration from the 1984 film, Red Dawn, and it featured a likeable and tough-as-nails hero in the form of former helicopter pilot, Robert Jacobs. Jacobs joins a band of guerilla fighters in a dystopic United States that has been invaded and controlled by the Greater Korean Republic (basically a North and South super-Korea, if you will). It’s pretty harrowing seeing the oppression and brutality in the game and playing as Jacobs as he’ll do anything to save his ‘Murica.

Faith (Mirror’s Edge)

Mirror’s Edge is a game about free-running, but it’s also a game about freedom of expression and standing up to an oppressive government. The crime-free utopian city that is under-lyingly subdued by the regime in power becomes Faith’s playground in Mirror’s Edge, as unmonitored communication is a big no-no in the city. Faith is a fantastic catalyst for the revolution, as her attitude towards the totalitarian government is rooted in her past; her parents were active in protest movements when she was young, campaigning to keep the city from shifting to the oppressive regime. Faith uses her skill and elusiveness to always be one step ahead of the government forces.